xiv, 301 pages : 24 cm

Woll starts with minstrel shows and "coon songs" and follows the development of the musical through the great shows of the twenties to current-day blockbusters like Ain't Misbehavin' . Throughout, stage history has paralleled social history; a subtext of discrimination against black performers and authors underscores Woll's splendid re-creation of the world of Cole and Johnson, Williams and Walker, Florence Mills, and countless others

Includes bibliographical references (pages 279-285) and index

Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations -- The first black musicals: Clorindy and a trip to Coontown (1898) -- The end of the coon songs: Bob Cole and the Johnson brothers -- The back to Africa musicals: Bert Williams and George Walker -- The term of exile -- Shuffle along -- It's getting dark on old Broadway -- Dixie to Broadway: Lew Leslie and the Black Revues -- A passing fad? -- "Wall st. lays an egg" -- The irony of Porgy and Bess -- Swinging the classics--or the FTP meets Gilbert and Sullivan -- Black and white Broadway -- Democracy in action -- Langston Hughes and the new black musical -- Revival -- Epilogue: into the 1980s -- Selected bibliography --Index

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